


The Neurodivergent Time Lord: A Doctor Who Autistic Headcanon

by AutisticWriter



Series: Neurodivergent Doctor [66]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Analysis, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Doctor (Doctor Who), Character Analysis, Dyspraxia, Episode Related, Gen, Headcanon, Meta, Neurodiversity, Nonfiction, Stimming, autistic traits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-06 20:17:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12218172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: A piece of meta written to analyse my Doctor Who autistic headcanons. Featuring Doctors One to Seven and my analysis of their autistic traits.





	1. One

First Doctor

One, having been alive for centuries, is mistrustful, wary and difficult to befriend – in fact, he acts like a person sick to death of neurotypicals. He is blunt, stubborn and often comes across as rude, but is actually a very nice person once you get to know him.

  * Stimming: He has his hands on his lapels almost constantly, and taps his thumbs against them when he is talking. One’s hands move a lot when he speaks, often flailing or tapping against his lapels. He also verbally stims by saying the same phrases repeatedly, such as “my boy” and “hmm”.
  * Communication: He trips his words up all the time when he speaks, which appears to be a problem with verbal communication. He also messes up Ian’s surname constantly in conversation. One may be semi-verbal, and so struggles with speech when he could more easily communicate another way. His verbal stimming (as mentioned above), many also be a manifestation of echolalia.
  * Social Issues: One is extremely difficult to have a conversation with, appearing as rude when talking, apparently by accident.



 

Episodes:

  * An Unearthly Child: the Doctor is very snappy and rude with Ian and Barbara. He doesn’t seem to know how to be socially appropriate with them, leaving him appearing very antisocial and rude.
  * The Daleks: the Doctor is fascinated by the abandoned city, and is determined to go and see it, to the point he puts himself and the others in danger.
  * The Romans: upon discovering that he accidentally inspired Nero to burn down Rome, the Doctor starts giggling. This is a rather inappropriate emotional response, something that many autistic people struggle with.




	2. Two

Second Doctor

Two is very friendly and sociable, but appears socially clueless a lot of the time. He is scruffy, clumsy and often has no sense of personal space, but he is very empathetic and kind.

  * Special Interests: The Doctor has a bit of an obsession with hats. He owns lots of different hats and seems to collect them. He also wears lots of his ridiculous hats, not seeming to care how silly he looks.
  * Stimming: Two stims a lot with his hands. He wrings his hands when he is stressed and frequently bounces up and down when excited. He also presses his fingertips together and presses his hands against his face.
  * Comfort Objects: He is very attached to his recorder. He plays music a lot when he is thinking, and always has it with him.
  * Sensory Issues: The Doctor seems to have hypersensitive hearing, because he often puts his fingertips to his temples in loud or stressful situations. Two may also have a hypersensitive sense of touch, explaining why he wears scruffy, loose clothes and has messy hair, as brushing his hair and wearing tighter fitting clothing may be uncomfortable for him.
  * Dyspraxia: The Second Doctor shows symptoms of comorbid dyspraxia. He is very clumsy, walking into things a lot like he doesn’t notice they are there. His arms also flail around when he runs, and he trips over his own feet.



 

Episodes:

  * The Power of the Daleks: Post- his first ever regeneration, Two struggles socially. He spends most of the episode (badly) playing his recorder, and he doesn’t seem to know how to talk to Ben and Polly.
  * The Dominators: As he runs along carrying a bomb, the Doctor stumbles and almost drops it. After they succeed at what they planned, the Doctor is very excited. He rushes around, bouncing and flapping his arms up and down, delighted by the result.
  * The Invasion: When running away from the fire of the Cybermen’s weapons, the Doctor’s arms flap about in the air and he lifts his knees unnaturally high. This comes across as a very dyspraxic way to run.
  * The War Games: The Doctor is the only person in the room to complain when a loud alarm goes off. He yells and seems uncomfortable at the sound, pressing his fingertips to his temples. He also doesn’t know his left from right.
  * The Three Doctors: Annoyed that no one understands him, Two starts smacking his hand against his face. This is a very neurodivergent thing to do. The Doctor also gets distressed when he misplaces his recorder.




	3. Three

 Third Doctor

Three comes across as a bit of a snob with a very old fashioned and bizarre dress sense, but is also passionate about the people and things he cares about.

  * Stimming: Three spends a lot of his time rubbing the back of his neck and his hands. He frequently fiddles with pens and other objects, often putting things in his mouth when he is thinking.
  * Special Interests: The Doctor seems a bit obsessed with the planet Venus (especially its martial arts). He also adores Bessie, to the point that UNIT had to buy her as a replacement for the car the Doctor ‘borrowed’.
  * Comfort Objects: Bessie also seems to be a bit of a comfort object for Three, as he cares deeply for his car – to the point that he would rather the Master get away than UNIT possibly shoot Bessie.
  * Sensory Issues: The Doctor wears loose, frilly sleeves. This may be because he finds the sensation of tight sleeves against his wrists uncomfortable.



 

Episodes:

  * Spearhead from Space: Whilst in hospital, the Doctor tries to search for his shoes. As he does this, he mumbles, “Shoes,” repeatedly, which seems to be a form of echolalia.
  * Terror of the Autons: The Doctor snaps at everyone, because he is trying to concentrate and keeps getting interrupted. He also gets very annoyed when Yates admits to making cocoa in his lab.
  * The Mind of Evil: He is shown wearing a zip-up shirt, which may be to do with coordination problems often found in autistic people.
  * Invasion of the Dinosaurs: The Doctor gets very annoyed when everyone keeps bothering him, and eventually grabs his head in frustration. This comes across as a very neurodivergent reaction.




	4. Four

Fourth Doctor                                                                                                    

Four comes as a very across very eccentric and hyperactive person, but he is very enthusiastic and friendly. He lacks social skills, but masks this in conversation by being very loud and chatty.

  * Stimming: Four is often seen playing with his yoyo or otherwise fiddling with his hands. He also wears a lot of layers and his huge scarf, which may be a form of pressure stimming.
  * Social Scripting: He frequently enters conversations with new people by saying, “Would you like a jelly baby?” This could easily be a social script, a way of initiating conversation when he doesn’t know what to say.
  * Comfort Objects: The Doctor is almost always seen with his scarf. When he isn’t wearing it, someone else travelling with him is instead.
  * Sensory Issues: Four has wild, messy hair, possibly because he doesn’t like brushing it or getting it cut. This suggests that his sense of touch is hypersensitive, and he dislikes having his head touched (and he may therefore wear his hat as a form of protection).
  * ADHD: The Doctor has a lot of symptoms of comorbid ADHD. He is forgetful and hyperactive, and is constantly stimming and moving around.



 

Episodes:

  * Robot: As the Doctor searches for his TARDIS key, he repeatedly mumbles, “Key, key...” This could be vocal stimming. In the scene at the end of the serial, the Doctor is visibly avoiding eye contact as he talks to Sarah.
  * The Ark in Space: Sarah says that, “he talks to himself because he’s the only one who understands what he’s talking about.”
  * Genesis of the Daleks: After he thinks that Sarah and Harry have been killed, the Doctor goes very quiet and stares into space for several minutes. This comes across very much as an autistic shutdown.
  * The Seeds of Doom: the Doctor is very literal minded twice in the same scene. When told to turn around, the Doctor spins 360 degrees on the spot. Then, when told to talk (obviously about how the man in the room with them died, but this isn’t specified), he starts rambling about Mozart.
  * The Robots of Death: In his cell with Leela, a stressed Doctor appears to be rocking back and forth in his seat. Later, he offers a man a jelly baby despite the man being in a bad mood, and looks rather upset when the man smacks the bag of sweets out of his hand.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to asparagusmama for the mention of Four rocking in the Robots of Death!


	5. Five

Fifth Doctor

Five is very kind and supportive, but often appears a bit too naive. He is older than his past incarnations, but what with his naivety and his enthusiasm, he can appear younger.

  * Stimming: The Doctor has a habit of putting his hands in his pockets.
  * Special Interests: Five is obsessed with cricket. He spends most of his time in cricket clothes, and the TARDIS has a room for him full of cricket paraphernalia.
  * Sensory Issues: The Doctor wears trainers instead of smarter shoes, possibly because he finds the latter too uncomfortable on his feet.



 

Episodes:

  * Earthshock: After Adric dies, the Doctor simply stares into space, not doing anything. Especially considering that Tegan and Nyssa are hugging each other and crying, the Doctor’s reaction seems very understated. This scene comes across as an autistic person having a shutdown.
  * Mawdryn Undead: the Doctor is very trusting of Turlough. Considering that they met when Turlough tried to steal the TARDIS, this comes across as rather odd. It can be an autistic trait to have issues with trusting people – in this case, trusting far too easily.




	6. Six

Sixth Doctor

Six is grumpy and somewhat unstable, but a kind soul lurks behind his gloomy exterior. But it can be hard to find.

  * Stimming: The Doctor puts his hands in his pockets a lot. Six can also be seen tapping his fingers together when thinking. He also fiddles with the cat badge pinned to the lapel of his jacket.
  * Comfort Objects: The Doctor is rarely seen without his multicoloured umbrella, and seems very fond of his cat badge.
  * Social Issues: The Doctor admits himself that he has no idea how to be compassionate with others.
  * Sensory Issues: From the extremely bright and vivid jacket the Doctor wears, it is fair to assume that he has a hyposensitive sense of vision.



 

Episodes:

  * The Twin Dilemma: The Doctor explicitly states that he has no idea how to use compassion. Considering how his previous incarnation had no problem with it, his excuse about being an alien probably isn’t true. The Doctor also says “no” about twelve times in a row when babbling, suggesting echolalia. His reaction to seeing a person he remembers from the past is to pick the man up and spin him around, hardly an appropriate social introduction.




	7. Seven

Seventh Doctor

Seven has a silly exterior reminiscent of some of his former incarnations, but has a darker, more serious side.

  * Stimming: Seven is almost constantly wringing his hands or fiddling with something, often his umbrella. The Doctor also plays the spoons whenever he can, clearly enjoying the sound and sensation it makes. He often puts his hand to his mouth when thinking, possibly a way to help him focus. Almost every time he meets someone, he tips his hat to them.
  * Communication: The Doctor is known to stutter and rolls his ‘Rs’ when speaking, suggesting he has issues with communicating verbally.
  * Special Interests: The Doctor seems to have a lot of fondness for the game of Chess, playing it even at unsuitable times.
  * Dyspraxia: Seven is clumsy and runs with flailing arms and unstable footfalls, thereby showing traits of comorbid dyspraxia.



 

Episodes:

  * Time and the Rani: The Doctor fails to recognise the Rani despite getting several clear looks at her face. This suggests he may have a problem with face blindness (something very common in autistic people), further exaggerated by his amnesia. The Doctor punches himself hard in the hand when annoyed with himself, implying that Seven may resort to self-injurious stimming under stress.
  * Paradise Towers: When a stressed Doctor is trying to work out what is going on, he finds himself being attacked by the Cleaner machines. His voice sounds panicked and he puts his hand to his forehead, moaning that he is already struggling to think and this is the last thing he needs. This comes across as a very overwhelmed autistic person teetering on the edge of a meltdown.



**Author's Note:**

> As always, these are only my personal headcanons.


End file.
